Despite the bad dream, the new day began like any other, with a pleasant breakfast. As soon as Ren and Satoru finished their meal, they left the house and headed to the dojo. Ren was feeling a bit sore from the previous day's training, but it was nothing compared to the pain he had felt when he first awakened in his new body. Besides, he was eager to see Hinata again. The mere thought of her in that tight training costume made him drool, a fact that didn't escape Satoru's notice. The old man promptly slapped him on the shoulder.

"You be careful," Satoru warned.

Confused, Ren asked, "What?"

"I know what's on your mind. That girl may look attractive, but she's not just any girl. You should be careful around her. She might be willing to fool around a bit, but if you go too far, it will end badly," Satoru cautioned, stopping in the middle of the street to emphasize his point.

"Why? Who is she?" Ren inquired.

"She is the youngest daughter of Kagetora Noroi, the head of the clan. If you put your hands on her, you'll lose them," Satoru explained, resuming his walk.

Ren rushed after the old man. "Then why did you introduce me to her?" he complained.

"Because I knew she would make you eager to train," a sly smirk crept onto Satoru's lips.

Ren thought: ‘This old fox,’ but he wasn't actually complaining. He wished for more, but even the presence of Hinata was a gift. She was the type of girl he could only dream about in his past life, but here he could even train with her, and that gave him a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless, for maybe even something beyond that.

The idea of a possible romance with Hinata made him drool again, and Satoru noticed, shaking his head in disbelief. In this mood, they arrived at the training facility. Hinata was already there, practicing, but she greeted them with a warm smile when they offered to train together again.

Satoru once more guided Ren through the correct moves, which he then practiced with Hinata. Her form was already close to perfection, displaying her experience and dedication to practice. Despite the distracting allure of her body, Ren managed to focus on his training.

After a rigorous session that left them covered in sweat, they finished and headed to the public baths to wash away their fatigue. Finally, the two returned home for a late lunch. After finishing his meal, Satoru went to have a smoke, and Ren appeared to join him but in the end, only passed by.

"Where are you going?" Satoru asked immediately.

"For a walk," Ren lied in response.

"Just be careful. Here in the Noroi clan district, you are safe, but beyond it, you might get yourself in trouble," Satoru warned before lighting up his pipe.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ren replied before continuing on his way.

He followed the same path they had taken the day before and soon arrived in the district belonging to the Tachibana clan. Many people watched him, just like when he came there with Satoru, but he had observed the old man carefully during their first visit and knew how to navigate these watchful eyes. He moved to the side, avoiding direct contact with any of the armed men, which allowed him to safely reach the stadium.

A guard blocked his path, the same tall man with exposed arms covered in scars. "What is your purpose?" he asked.

"I'm Ren Noroi. I came because I'm interested in the trial," Ren responded.

This caused the other guard to burst into laughter, but a stern look from the scarred guard quickly silenced him. "You may enter," he then added, while stepping aside.

Ren nodded his thanks and entered the stadium, where he found the familiar skinny man behind the oval counter. "How can I... It's you. What are you doing here?" the man asked, awakened from his boredom-induced slumber, as he stood back to his feet.

"I came to ask if it's possible to learn more about those apes. I know that I can't just beat one in a normal way, but maybe there's a different approach that could give me some kind of advantage. That's why I want to learn more about them," Ren explained.

The Tachibana clan member's eyebrows shot up in confusion at first, but he eventually waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind. I don't really care. You know where to go," he said as he returned to his half-asleep position.

Not needing a better invitation, Ren headed to the correct tunnel, descended the stairs, and found his way to the post where this time he encountered three men enjoying their bento.

With their mouths full and bits of rice on their faces, they all turned their gazes to him simultaneously, showing equal surprise. "Hi," Ren raised his hand to greet them, feeling a bit awkward. "I'm the guy from yesterday. I came to ask if maybe you could help me a little…"

One of them decided to leave the table. He was bulky, tall, and muscular, with short black hair. He wore the usual dark blue kimono with sleeves cut shorter, reaching only to his elbows. On top of it, he had leather armor covering his torso, and Ren noticed gauntlets made of iron on his forearms. By his belt hung a sturdy but heavy metal club.

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"I'll tell you the truth," Ren began. "I need to win against one of those apes, but I understand that it's almost impossible for me. However, I thought that there might be a way. A tactic or approach that could give me an edge. I don't want to just give up. I want to explore every option," he confessed.

The man slowly nodded in response and extended a hand. "Name's Tachibana Ryota. I'm in charge of the beasts, and unfortunately, I've never heard of a tactic against those creatures you could use," he shrugged his shoulders. "But your resolve is admirable. In the Tachibana clan, we do appreciate those who don't give up easily."

"Could I maybe watch them some more? Maybe I can find something if I observe what they do?" Ren pleaded desperately after the answers he received didn't meet his expectations.

Ryota looked first over his shoulder at his colleagues and then returned his gaze. "You know what? Why don't you help us with them? This way, you can learn more about those beasts."

"H-help? What do you mean by this?" Ren asked, puzzled.

"Feed them, give them water. I'll show you. What do you say?"

"Yeah, sure, I can help," Ren agreed, his determination shining through.

Ryota smiled as he began walking deeper into the tunnel the moment his offer was accepted. "Follow me."

The two continued down the long corridor illuminated by the buzzing lights fixed to the ceiling above. If not for the stench, the place wouldn't be so bad, but the smell was horrible, and it made Ren start regretting his decision.

It only worsened when they approached the cells where those beasts were kept. Ryota stopped at the very end of the tunnel, where a shallow alcove held a few objects: bags filled with stinky food and long poles with hooks at the end.

"This is dried meat we feed them since they are carnivores. You take one of those poles, hook a trough with food, pull it out of their cages, and refill it. Then you do the same with water. You can use this tap for it," he pointed at a metal pipe sticking out of the wall, with a knob on top. "But be careful. They might grab the pole and try to pull you closer, to grab you through the bars. If they do, immediately drop it and don't feed them. Just grab another pole and feed a different ape. They don't eat once or twice, and they will know not to mess with you," he explained, smiling.

"Is this even safe? What if they just tear those bars apart? They don't look sturdy enough," Ren asked, expressing his concerns.

"They won't. Those aren't just your regular bars. They are reinforced with shinryoku," Ryota responded as if it should explain everything.

"Shinryoku?" Ren inquired, prompting Ryota to give him a confused look as if the meaning of this word should be obvious.

"I had an accident. I almost died, and I have amnesia. Sometimes I might ask stupid questions," Ren quickly explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you get better... Is it even wise to try... Never mind. It's not my business,” he shook his head, then sighed. „Shinryoku is a type of energy. A force that some learn to harness. It's very basic for us in the Tachibana clan, but I know that you, from Noroi, don't really use it much. Anyway... With shinryoku, you can make your body stronger, or tougher, or even do the same with an object if you pour the energy in. You can do other things as well... Ask the old man who was here with you yesterday; he should explain. The two of you came together, right?" Ryota clarified.

"Yes," Ren confirmed. "I'll ask him. So… When should I feed them?"

"We do it only once a day, to keep them weak and not encourage any incidents, but they will be fed more before the trial, so don't count on that," Ryota chuckled. "We do it every evening, so you might as well try now. Just… Be careful."

Ren grabbed one of the poles and stuck it between the bars, trying to hook the long trough and pull it in, but the ape was faster and caught the stick quickly. He dropped it as soon as he saw the massive hand reaching for it. The ape dropped the pole as soon as it saw that Ren was no longer holding it, so he reached to pick it up.

"No!" Ryota stopped him. "As soon as you grab it again, the ape will try to pull you closer. It will be faster this time. Never pick them up on the same day," he explained.

"Thank you," Ren responded, before going to grab another pole. The other apes didn't try to repeat the same mistake the first one did, clearly learning from its mistakes.

The process of replenishing food and water took some time, but with only a bit of struggle, he managed to finish it several minutes later.

"Now we have to bring the food for the next day," Ryota informed as soon as Ren put away the pole. "Follow me. I'll show you where we keep it."

"Sure," he accepted the proposition, and the two began their journey back through the stinky tunnel until they reached the stairs and climbed them to enter the main hall.

From there, the Tachibana clan member guided him to a storage place nearby, at the end of a different tunnel. It was a large space filled currently mostly with bags of dried meat. There was a bit of other equipment there, like ladders, brooms, buckets, and even pieces of furniture. Some desks, tables, and chairs, but overall, most of the area was empty.

The light was provided by the lamps hanging from the ceiling.

"We need five bags. Actually... Four because one didn't get to eat. You look capable enough to take two, so let's split them equally," Ryota proposed.

Ren agreed with a nod, so he ended up carrying two on their way back. They weren't that heavy, especially for his new muscular body, so it didn't take long before they put them back in the shallow alcove.

"That would be all. You can stay as long as you want, but don't get too close, because they will grab you," the man warned, before attempting to leave to his colleagues.

"Wait," Ren stopped him. "Will the monsters be assigned randomly, or could I pick which one I want to fight?"

The question prompted Ryota to smile. "Are you thinking of choosing the weakest one?"

"Yes," Ren chuckled awkwardly in response. "I made a deal with a blacksmith. He will give me a Jujin sword if I can beat one of those apes. I really need that sword to become a candidate."

"Well… It would be no less of a miracle, even if you managed to defeat the smallest one, so I'll say sure. You can pick the smallest one if you won't change your mind, that is."

"Thank you. I might change my mind… I probably will if I don't come up with a way to win," Ren admitted.

"Then good luck with finding something," Ryota said before leaving.

Alone with the creatures, Ren sat down on the ground to observe the monsters. They appeared a bit lazy, either sitting, sleeping or just slowly roaming around their cells. Already aware of how smart they were, he knew that it was only a facade, to make their keepers lower their guard so they could strike.

No matter how hard he tried to find something, there was nothing in their behavior. He didn't notice any weak points. 'I won't win… It's impossible. Maybe I could win if...' He smiled as the realization hit him.

The plan on how to actually best one of the apes began formulating in his head. He stayed there until it was ready, and then finally decided to go back home.